A pancreas transplant is surgical treatment to implant a strong pancreas from a donor into a patient with diabetes. Pancreas transplants give the patient an ability to become free of insulin injections. Diabetes has been classified into two types. In Type 1 diabetes, previously called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and juvenile-onset diabetes, the body does not generate insulin or produces it only in very little quantities. Symptoms generally emerge unexpectedly, on average in individuals under 20 years of age. Most cases occur around puberty around age 10 to 12 in girls and age 12 to 14 in boys. In the United States Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all diabetes cases, whereas in Canada, Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 10 percent of all diabetes cases.
Type 1 diabetes is considered an autoimmune disease because the immune system (system of organs, tissues, and cells that divest the body of disease-causing organisms or substances) attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells, known as beta cells, in the pancreas. Scientists believe that a combination of genetic and environmental factors may somehow trigger the immune system to destroy these cells. Scientists have so far identified 20 genes that play a role in Type 1 diabetes, although the exact function of these genes is still under investigation. Environmental factors, such as certain viruses, may also contribute to the development of the disease, particularly in people who already have a genetic predisposition for the disease. Untreated Type 1 diabetes affects the metabolism of fat. For the reason that the body cannot convert glucose into energy, it begins to break down stored fat for fuel. This produces increasing amounts of acidic compounds in the blood called ketone bodies.......
